As long as what you want is what the economic elites want, it happens.
The correlative factor between what the regular people want and what ends up happening is 0.05. elites are 0.78. business interests are 0.48
If you want to see change become an oligarch, and if not join a business lobbyist group. If you can’t do either you’re SOL.
American democracy is an oxymoron. It can’t be ruined if it never existed. FFS the country is run by two Private Companies who have no legal or constitutional reason to be democratic in who they put up as candidates and because this has been the case since the beginning no one else has a chance.
No, the low IQ wing nuts who make up at least 50% of the population who allow people like Trump to become president. They literally ruin anything good we could have a society 😒
Money is, for sure.
It’s not about age, it’s about corruption. Old politicians have had more time to make deals, forge alliances, and prove themselves useful to money.
One way to mitigate this is term limits for Congress. Force them out before they can do too much damage, before they can entrench themselves, and gain the support of some billionaire. Less reason to throw millions at a candidate if they’ll be gone in eight years.
It’s been ruined for a long time, big money interests has always had a stranglehold on it. That tends to be older people sure but not all of them are beyond 30 either.
Sadly yes, the boomers who are 50-60 are causing most issues because they fall for the same okey doke.
Boomers are aged 62-80 in 2026.
Gen Y is the largest voting block right now.
“Boomer” just means “old person” now. But ageism is still bigotry.
I had to laugh when “millennial” became shorthand for someone young, LOL. I had to remind someone at one point that Gen Y is now pushing into their 40s, LOL.
That tween you see doing some dumb shit you disapprove of is no “millennial”. 🤣
They are ruining it, man… Any day now, it will be ruined… Not exactly right now probably, but maybe soon likely… This is a thing that may going to happen probably definitely.
Consider this a warning… Of a probability… Maybe… Eventually… In theory… I don’t know… Could be.
That’s a funny way to spell “sociopathic rich bastards”
sociopathic rich bastards
I mean they are generally old too, it’s just not their defining characteristic.
I mean, most of them have kids and grandkids, so that money is going to end up in the hands of the young in any case. And they were raised by sociopaths, so the chances that they will be as well is non-zero…
In any case, when outlets like the NYT do things like this, they know that they are using a red herring…let’s get some inter-generational froth going and people won’t notice who is making off with all the money and power…
There’s some truth to the inter-generational conflict. A lot of the boomers and early Gen X were granted limited access to the tools of the owner class (eg. “Reverse Mortgages” are really just a tiny version of the same equity financing the ultra-rich use to access their wealth without sacrificing control of their companies or paying taxes). They’ve socially conditioned and co-opted a lot of our elders into protecting their interests for them, however you are correct that it’s more of an attempt to obfuscate the real threat (the sociopathic rich bastards) and keep us fighting with each other rather than organizing against them.
They have you focused on old people so you are distracted from the fact that capitalism is the problem
To be fair most old people clutch their pearls when you say radical things like “capitalism is the problem”… so yeah. They’ve ruined a lot of shit.
This is the answer. The fad (psyop?) of blaming “boomers” for all the world’s ills is annoying AF.
My bad. Who votes for these senators, members of congress and presidential candidates in the primaries?
Anymore over the age of 18
Lol. You’d rather look like an idiot than lay any blame at the feet of boomers huh?
As someone who has phone banked and canvassed in multiple primaries: It’s boomers.
Gen Y is now the biggest voting bloc as far as generation breakdown.
If you think all the problems lie with…checks notes…the sixties generation, I have a bridge to sell you.
Gen Y doesn’t participate in primaries at the same rate as Boomers. You’d know this if you ever phone banked.
Regardless of age, anyone that’s voted for either shade of fascism is responsible. Liberals created this mess, conservatives created this mess.
If you’ve canvased for the oligarchy you are part of the problem
Who did you vote for in 2024, 2020, and 2016?
I can guarantee you voted for a lighter shade of fascism
Nah. It’s capitalism and social engineering by the powers that be. That shit is divisive as fuck. The old will be dead soon enough, but that 1% at the top bullshit has gone on for a very long time already. Decades, generations.
Centuries
No war but class war, brother
Agreed. And Boomers picked the side of the capitalists.
Billionaires are ruining it. Don’t let the NYT shift the blame.
Who’s voting in primaries for the kinds of politicians who refuse to take on billionaires?
The boomers that vote for far right grifters and are happy to pull up the ladder behind themselves certainly deserve a share of the blame too.
Not all boomers. Sorry, blaming “boomers” is rather naive.
I’ve been around long enough to remember boomers blaming all the things on Silent/Greatest Generation. They had all the answers and could not wait to take over.
Just sayin’ - I’m starting to see a pattern here.
I suggest you try phone banking for an anti-billionaire candidate in a primary election. Your take on Boomers will become informed real fast.
Not all men energy.
🙄
Engaging in ageism and inter-generational nonsense is just falling for the red herring.
Boomers that aren’t part of the problem aren’t offended by generalizations. Look in the mirror. You wanna defend landlords next?
They might be annoyed more than offended.
“Oh no I’m annoyed my generation is largely responsible for the destruction of the world.”
The problem with boomers, though, is that they formed such a large voting block that their generation has been able to steer the political system in the US. We started seeing change in the 90s and it was gaining momentum in the early 00s, but the reactionaries went full tilt on fascism as a result.
This is a gross oversimllified take so please don’t think it’s meant as any kind of scholarly dissertation.
Gen Y is the largest generation right now.
All of voting age. Followed by Gen Z (not all of voting age - yet), then Gen X, then boomers.
I mean, what happened in the past as you describe as a result of the huge numbers of boomers is entirely possible. I’m Gen X, so believe it when I say I have my share of resentments about how we were overshadowed nearly our entire lives by boomers, and then the spotlight jumped right to Gen Y, but all because of numbers, and not any unique traits to either Gen Y or boomers or to Gen X.
But at this point, blaming boomers for what is happening now is rather…interesting, I have to say. They are the 4th largest group.
What kind of loser spends their free time going around defending boomers?
In the same vein, you’re all over this thread exclusively shitting on boomers and ignoring all other possibilities.
Looks like Astro turfing to me.
How is it astroturfing when boomers hold most of the power in most of the world governments and most of the wealth to boot? Also only tankies care to astroturf on lemmy, there aren’t enough people here to give a shit but propagandists gonna propagandize.
They have most of the wealth and the power. They’re the ones doing the fascism. Every generation is doing their part on that fucked up front but the buck (literally) starts and stops with the boomers for the most part.
White people have the most wealth and power.
City people have the most wealth and power.
Men have the most wealth and power.
Non-Indigenous people have the most wealth and power.
Yeah, you’re getting there.
Gen Y numbers are bigger right now, as a voting bloc.
Also, Gen Y is poised to be the richest generation on record: https://fortune.com/2025/03/28/millennials-richest-generation-on-record-great-wealth-transfer-from-baby-boomers/
I suspect all that wealth transfer may change…something…but I’m not in any way convinced that Gen Y is any better than the boomers, as a group. In fact, they have no real equivalent activism of the 60s generation from what I can tell. In fact, I’m almost certain Gen Y doesn’t have some magical quality that the boomers don’t and that they’ll make things better just by dint of being a different generation with all the wealth and all the numbers…I’d love to be proven wrong, though.
You read fortune? I can go ahead and ignore you now, thanks for that out. Fucking boomers.
I didn’t say all boomers. I very specifically said which ones i meant.
Nearly half of boomers have no retirement savings. Blame them all you want, but the problem is the rich. Always has been. Always will be.
Which part do you think was a lie? Half of all boomers being broke, or the rich being the problem?
Oh its rich people. And the overwhelming majority of them being boomers.
Musk and Zuckerberg aren’t boomers.
And? There’s other rich people out there
Most boomers gleefully enabled the system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_presidential_election#Voter_demographics
If by that you mean less than 44% of boomers didn’t vote for Trump, and over 54% of Gen Z didn’t vote for Trump, then you might be correct.
The population that voted for them even though it hurts them are still at fault, even if they didn’t write the billionaire backed legislation.
Well I can tell you for sure it wasn’t only boomers that voted for them.
I’m just trying to emphasize that this is a class war, not a generational war.
As someone who’s phone banked in plenty of primaries: It’s boomers. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Couldn’t possibly be that only boomers would answer the phone. Because you know those younger generations are totally known for answering calls from unknown numbers and participating in surveys.
Does NY Times want to distract us from having class solidarity?
Where are all these boomers with class solidarity? Show me.
Always.
The problem is really simple to solve.
Politicians represent old people because old people vote. Young people always want to break the system and make a new one, but old people know how to use the existing system to get what they want. .
Young people have all the power they need to be heard, but they just don’t take it. They think voting changes nothing, but they don’t realize it changes everything.
If young people voted, politicians would be forced to take their issues seriously.
Young people always want to break the system and make a new one, but old people know how to use the existing system to get what they want
yeah no. most young people I know dont know jack shit about politics. they’re purely consumers who use TikTok, buy Starbucks and shop on Amazon. Theres nothing breaking the system about them. They don’t vote because of lobbyists who make sure they aren’t represented. When they feel represented they vote.
Hot take- people are stupid if theyre just waiting for someone to show up and represent them. No excuse for not doing your civic duty, let alone attempting to fix something that will make your life better.
Like a dog- you don’t just expect it to do tricks. You have to teach it.
you don’t just expect it to do tricks. You have to teach it.
thats the fun part, thats what theyre taught to do at every level of the education system. Its to vote and wait.
